The Making of a Nation in the Balkans
Historiography of the Bulgarian Revival
Roumen Daskalov, Associate Professor of Modern
History, Central European University, Budapest.
The nineteenth century was the epoch of nation building
for the Bulgarians under Ottoman rule. In this book,
comparisons and analogies are made between the Bulgarian
Revival and other regions, epochs, ideological trends,
and events. These latter are taken from two major areas--Western
Europe ("Renaissance," "Enlightenment,"
"Romanticism," the French Revolution, and
national liberation movements), and Russia (the "agrarian
question," "populism" and "utopian
socialism," "revolutionary democrats,"
and the Russian Revolution of 1905).
Historical facts about the Revival were instrumentalized
for political purposes, such as the fostering of national
and state loyalties through the reproduction of identities,
or, directly, as the legitimating/contesting of a current
political regime under the guise of disputes over historical
legacy. Ideological mobilization took place in the form
of nationalism, right-wing authoritarianism (shading
into fascism), and communism. The author sets in relief
some of the mechanisms and logic of the two grand narratives
under the sign of nationalism, and of Marxism.
"Combines painstaking scholarship with thorough
and incisive analysis to create a book that will become
the definitive work on the subject. This book is the
result of years of meticulous and thorough reading of
the Bulgarian standards in history as well as literary
criticism...
The book is especially helpful when the author points
out the ideological twists communist era historians
put into the Bulgarian revival narrative. Those parts
of the book would be useful to anyone who wishes to
understand how Marxism is used to rewrite the past."
- Slavic Review
"Roumen Daskalov's book breaks new ground. It
is unusual in the East European field in that it offers
a thorough historiographical review, peppered with theoretical
analysis, on one discrete period in a nation's history.
Perhaps the most interesting moments in the text are
Daskalov's own profound insights on the revival period
and Bulgarian historical wirting in general." -
The American Historical Review
Contents
Preface Introduction: From Metaphor toward
a Historical Epoch Chapter I. Meanings of the
Revival (I) National And Cultural Chapter II.
Meanings Of The Revival (II) Economic And Social Excursus
on periodization Chapter III. Classes and
Class Struggles Chapter IV. Paths Of The Revival
And National Heroes Chapter V. The April Uprising,
the Russo-Turkish Liberation War, and the Revolution
Chapter VI. The Continuing Revival: Symbolic
Struggles and Images Epilogue: The Bulgarian
Revival as a National Myth Index
2004
296 pages
ISBN 978-963-9241-83-1 cloth $47.95 / €39.95 / £29.95
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